The Golden Compass trailer

[Vaniver]

I've actually cited this trilogy as the best example of recent fiction/fantasy I can think of that doesn't consciously or unconsciously emulate Tolkien's world.

Well, actually, couldn't the Oxford scenes be considered similar to Tolkien's actual world? [/quibble]

[Berge]

I've actually cited this trilogy as the best example of recent fiction/fantasy I can think of that doesn't consciously or unconsciously emulate Tolkien's world.

Well, actually, couldn't the Oxford scenes be considered similar to Tolkien's actual world? [/quibble]

Curses. Foiled again!

[shadebug]

http://www.bridgetothestars.net/index.php?p=FAQ#4
has a lovely explanation of why it's called the golden compass

edit while I'm here, how the hell are they going to do the third book if they've removed religion?

[Nyarlathotep]

Hm. The more I watch it, the more upset I am at the cartoony way Iorek looks, but the more in love I fall with the architecture. Dear god, these people know what sorts of buildings turn me on... damn that's gorgeous art deco glass... stuff... mmmmmmmmmm. sexy buildings, yes.

[Berge]

I was extremely happy to see the zeppelin hovering over the city as a matter of course.

[bigglesworth]

I'd agree that the buildings are nice, but not to that extent.

(Off-topic: that must remove a lot of problems for you, i mean glossy coffee table books about architecture are more acceptable in polite company than certain other magazines)

[Nyarlathotep]

(Off-topic: that must remove a lot of problems for you, i mean glossy coffee table books about architecture are more acceptable in polite company than certain other magazines)

(Yes. A nice big Frank Lloyd Wright coffee-table book... mmmm~ )

[bavardage]

O_O I am TERRIFIED to see how this turnes out. I adored the books, I don't want to see them utterly mutilated >_<

What I'm worried about partly is that people will watch the movies and call themselves a fan, like the Orlando Bloom fangirls did when LOTR came out... Not that there are adorable guys that I saw, but... I loved the LOTR books before I loved the movies, and it bugs me to this day when someone dosen't even know Bombadil...

I wish they'd had more shots of Pan. I liked the one they had near the end, but I'm anxious so see how they're going to work the shape-shifting external soul thing.

I feel pretty much the same way I am not sure whether I will even go to see it, lest it damage my enjoyment of the books. I think that any wandering from the story of the books will be a bad bad thing.

[Belial]

Bah...the more I watch it, the more Iorek just looks like one of the Coca Cola Bears in plate mail

[Jadestone]

Bah...the more I watch it, the more Iorek just looks like one of the Coca Cola Bears in plate mail

You're right, sadly. And Ms. Coulter was supposed to have dark hair, but I can forgive them for that. I don't think they showed the dæmons enough though, you only saw them once.

[Berge]

And Ms. Coulter was supposed to have dark hair, but I can forgive them for that. I don't think they showed the dæmons enough though, you only saw them once.

I could have sworn she had blond hair in the books...or am I confusing her description with her dæmon, who's always described as "golden haired?"

[bigglesworth]

I'm definitely going to see it. I've already read the books a couple of times, I've got plenty of enjoyment out of them already.

[Jadestone]

And Ms. Coulter was supposed to have dark hair, but I can forgive them for that. I don't think they showed the dæmons enough though, you only saw them once.

I could have sworn she had blond hair in the books...or am I confusing her description with her dæmon, who's always described as "golden haired?"

Yup, she had a golden monkey. She was described as 'with her dark hair (ect)...' in context, though. Also pale skin. I imagined her with lighter hair though, and it's not a huge change at least.

[bigglesworth]

Yeah, it was never terribly important in the book.

[Nyarlathotep]

I'm re-reading the book - Coutler IS supposed to be brunette, but I think it honestly doesn't matter, and besides - [quote=spoilerish]She's Lyra's mother, and Lyra's supposed to be blond.[/quote]

The more I re-read the book, the angrier I am with Lyra's casting. God, that girl isn't Lyra. Lyra is a freaking animal, she screams and bits and kicks and fights. She's like me before I went off to my second elementary school - leader of the pack, a ragamuffin and a scoundrel. That girl is a cute little moppet, and I'm starting to think they're going to take out the scoundrel aspect altogether. LYRA IS A LIAR, DAMMIT, SHE IS LYRA SILVERTOUNGE, NOT SOME PRETTY PRINCESS. *headdesk*

On the other hand, I'm now getting to fiddle properly with the website's Alethiometer. You have to key in symbol combinations from the book and you get goodies like wallpaper. It's stupid but I find it entertaining. And I must say the website is rather well done... I usually hate these flash thingies, but the Daemon quiz was a nice fun little touch, and the music is very nice for just a few looped sounds.


*e* For the lazy:

The first is the Serpent, the Crucible, and the Bee (in the book it's beehive). The answer the thing gives is the Hourglass (which is how you know you got the right combination. The symbols are very hard to read even on my monitor)
The second is the Mother/Madonna, the Ant, and the Hourglass. Sadly this combination seems to give a random answer... first time it was the serpent, second it was several symbols.

...
Huh, on second examination... it gives you a different picture each time you click the questionmark as long as the combination is from the book. I don't know if you can get something other than wallpapers. I was tripped up by the first one since the answer matched the book.

Anyone else...?

*e2* *laughs* the talk in the book of the Alethiometer and the layered meanings of the symbols makes me want to get out my runes and Tarot cards again. Especially my Tarot cards... I love linking fictional characters to various cards. Same thing happened with Chronicles of Amber...

[jamessw]

edit while I'm here, how the hell are they going to do the third book if they've removed religion?

I believe that the religious theme isn't completely removed. It's just toned down, and the terminology of some characters has changed when referring to the authority, in order to accommodate that there is an enemy, but it isn't exactly god who is the enemy.

That is as far as I have been able to sum up the changes from the snippets of interviews I have seen.

As for another comment made above, about the beauty of the city, whilst the Zeppelin was sailing over it, that is not how I imagined the cities described in the books at all; they seem too fantastical and ornate.

[Darth Eru]

This is great. When I saw the trailer in theaters, I said to myself "I have to read that book." And I didn't even know it was a book. When I got home I confirmed that it was indeed based on a book, and yesterday I went out and got the trilogy from the library, and today I noticed this thread. Anyway, I don't really care about the movie, I may see it and I may not, but I'm glad I got a few good books out of it, and maybe a new author too. Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights) was great, and I started on The Silent Knife this morning, and it's looking pretty good.

The only beefs I have are with Pullman himself for reportedly bashing the Narnia books and CS Lewis, which is an almost unforgivable act, and with the book's few obscure hints at quantum physics, which seem to be put in here and there not to make anything any more clear, but to show that he knows a few quantum buzzwords. I dislike it because what he says doesn't make much sense in context, and so far what he's said could just as easily been explained without making any reference to quantum theory at all.

[mindless_drivel]

As someone who has never read any of the books, the only thing I thought while watching the trailer is "Wow, those are really bad special effects." The matte paintings of the cities look incredibly fake and 2-D, and the polar looks like something Coca-Cola would have in one of their commercials. Maybe they'll clean up the visuals before it's released, but as of right now this trailer did little to interest me in the movie.

[Belial]

and with the book's few obscure hints at quantum physics, which seem to be put in here and there not to make anything any more clear, but to show that he knows a few quantum buzzwords.

It's mostly there to show that certain plot aspects that I'm not discussing here because they're spoilerish, have a direct, scientific interaction with our universe, rather than a vague, unquantifiable spiritual one.

He doesn't necessarily have to understand quantum physics, it's not important. What's important is that one of the characters *does* understand it, and is able to say "This thing interacts with this thing on a quantum level, and therefore interacts with our universe in a quantifiable way." The books aren't hard sci-fi, they're more fantasy than anything else. The quantum stuff is a plot device, a footnote really.

Also, keep in mind that popular understanding of Quantum Physics has moved on a good bit since they were written.

As someone who has never read any of the books, the only thing I thought while watching the trailer is "Wow, those are really bad special effects."

Yeah, since the first time I saw it, the "Gee Willikers It's His Dark Materials!" shine has worn off in my mind, and I agree. Just read the books. They're better.

[Darth Eru]

I read a bit of the wikipedia entry, and it said there was some discussion of quantum later on in the story. I just don't like him interspersing some words that, if you know a little about quantum you can see where he's getting them, but if you don't, then at best they're slightly odd choices for what he is saying at the time. (And at worst they make absolutely no sense.)

The one example that sticks in my mind is when someone is talking about how when a coin is flipped, it could land heads or tails, but only when it actually lands does the probability "collapse" into one or the other. This is obviouly an allusion to wavefunctions collapsing when a particle is measured, but to someone who doesn't know that meaning the use of the word collapse is a fairly odd choice. I understand it's foreshadowing after a fashion, but using a word like that in that way just to set something up for a later book is kind of silly.

Edit: Just to clarify, I don't like how probably most of his readers wouldn't get some of these things. The actual accuracy of the science isn't much of a problem for me.

[bigglesworth]

As someone who has never read any of the books, the only thing I thought while watching the trailer is "Wow, those are really bad special effects." The matte paintings of the cities look incredibly fake and 2-D, and the polar looks like something Coca-Cola would have in one of their commercials. Maybe they'll clean up the visuals before it's released, but as of right now this trailer did little to interest me in the movie.

The visual quality will probably be different on a big screen than on a video download.

[mindless_drivel]

As someone who has never read any of the books, the only thing I thought while watching the trailer is "Wow, those are really bad special effects." The matte paintings of the cities look incredibly fake and 2-D, and the polar looks like something Coca-Cola would have in one of their commercials. Maybe they'll clean up the visuals before it's released, but as of right now this trailer did little to interest me in the movie.

The visual quality will probably be different on a big screen than on a video download.

Yeah, that's what I thought about all the Spider-man films too, but they still looked cartoony even on a big screen.

[shadebug]

I read a bit of the wikipedia entry, and it said there was some discussion of quantum later on in the story. I just don't like him interspersing some words that, if you know a little about quantum you can see where he's getting them, but if you don't, then at best they're slightly odd choices for what he is saying at the time. (And at worst they make absolutely no sense.)

The one example that sticks in my mind is when someone is talking about how when a coin is flipped, it could land heads or tails, but only when it actually lands does the probability "collapse" into one or the other. This is obviouly an allusion to wavefunctions collapsing when a particle is measured, but to someone who doesn't know that meaning the use of the word collapse is a fairly odd choice. I understand it's foreshadowing after a fashion, but using a word like that in that way just to set something up for a later book is kind of silly.

Edit: Just to clarify, I don't like how probably most of his readers wouldn't get some of these things. The actual accuracy of the science isn't much of a problem for me.

yes, if only he'd dumb it down so we could all feel comfortable reading it, that would improve the book and pullman's integrity as an author.

As it is, wait until you've read the amber spyglass, though really, why anybody would suggest that writing things in preparation for a sequel is anything but good storywriting is beyond me

[jamessw]

but I'm glad I got a few good books out of it, and maybe a new author too.

If you feel like exploring Pullman further, make a beeline straight for the Sally Lockhart ( trilogy +1 ).

The Tiger In The Well, Shadow In The North, Ruby In The Smoke, Tin Princess ( it's been so long since I picked them up I have forgotten the reading order ) are his next best achievement. The rest of his work, from what I have seen, consists of several short one-off stories, which are focused more on younger teens.

[Darth Eru]

My own ridiculously (and apparently uselessly) long post.

yes, if only he'd dumb it down so we could all feel comfortable reading it, that would improve the book and pullman's integrity as an author.

As it is, wait until you've read the amber spyglass, though really, why anybody would suggest that writing things in preparation for a sequel is anything but good storywriting is beyond me

Apparently you didn't understand me. Sorry for that, I'll try again. I'm not saying he should dumb anything down, or not prepare for later books. I'm saying he should go about it in a different way. He was using words that didn't make sense in context unless you have at least a layman's knowledge of quantum stuff, which I feel safe in saying most of his readers would not have. What he should have done was either more explicitly linked it to quantum, so people could find out for themselves what it meant, or found a better way to hint at quantum.

And if you still think that would be "dumbing it down", then maybe he should. A writer trying to please his readers is, admittedly, not a good writer. However, making vague references that the vast majority of his readers wouldn't understand is rather pointless.

And thanks jamessw, I'll keep those titles in mind next time I visit the library.

[Dibley]

sadly, I never read the third book, though I loved the first two. I read them from the school library, and I found out too late that they didn't have the third one in stock. I think it's because it was a christian elementary school (I got one of the harry potters confiscated, which seriously pissed me off), and they probably figured out that it was a bit anti religious, but somehow neglected to burn the first two. I got the third the other day, but haven't found the first two yet.

[athelas]

Update: an extended version. I like the steampunk slide projector.